Fourteen-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams' families and friends have endured six months without them, and the man who killed the girls Feb. 13 in a wooded area along the banks of the Deer Creek remains on the loose.

Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, both of Delphi, were killed Feb. 13 on trails east of the city. Parents and kids remain on edge because the girls' killer remains on the loose.(Photo: Provided)

Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, both of Delphi, were killed Feb. 13 on trails east of the city. Parents and kids remain on edge because the girls' killer remains on the loose.(Photo: Provided)

Delphi looks the same — beautiful 19th century homes lining many of its city streets. This quiet, small city in western Carroll County personifies stereotypical small-town America, except for the brutal killings that still remains unsolved.

"I see pluses and negatives," Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said when asked what changes he sees in the community he serves.

“On the plus side, I see parents keeping a closer eye on their children. I think people are more alert to their surroundings," he said.

That was the case for Alicia Kinnaird, as she took time out from her yard sale Friday to share how German and Williams' killings changed her and Delphi.

"My two little girls," she recalled, "their best friend is three houses down. For a good two weeks I would stand and watch them walk three houses down."

That vigilance waned as the weeks turned to months, but Kinnaird can't help but be changed by the killings.

“I don’t think it will ever be quite the same," she said of the safe feeling of a small-town , "... but I don’t stand and watch them from the door until they know on (their best friend’s) door, anymore.”

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A sketch released by police Monday, July 17, 2017, of a man believed to be connected to murder of Liberty German and Abigail Williams last February in Delphi, Ind. The bodies of German, 14, and Williams, 13, were found a day after they were hiking near Monon High Bridge east of Delphi. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Like Leazenby, she noticed something positive come from the horrible finding of the girls' bodies on Valentine's Day.

"The one upside of a tragedy is that it seems to bring people together," she said. "They notice each other more. They have something to share like that.”

Even friends and family from other parts of the country or state reached out to support Delphi and its community, Kinnaird said.

One of Kinnaird's yard sale shoppers, Carolyn Dikty, lives in Fort Wayne, but regularly visits Delphi, where her mother still lives.

“I know when I came to the fair, it definitely seemed a little bit different," Dikty said. "There was a lot of support.”

Kathy Taylor, another of Kinnaird's shoppers, lives in Flora, where four girls died Nov. 21 in a house fire. Their deaths were ruled homicides, and like German and Williams' death, their killer remains at large.

“I think it makes you more aware of your children, keeping an eye on them, being more cautious about their safety. It’s a tragedy,” Taylor said of the killings in both communities. "It seems like it just doesn’t happen in small communities like this."

Steve Brummett of Delphi grew up south of town and used to ride bikes from sun up to sun down.

"You wouldn't dream of doing that today," he said.

Leazenby also saw the community recoil from the girls' slaying.

"To a certain degree, there’s some paranoia involved," Leazenby said. "I don't want to see everybody being paranoid in this community because it is a good community.

"I've had quite a few people say they look at people differently."

Last month's publication of a sketch of the killer at least brought some relief to Kinnaird and others in the community.

"To have a face almost made me glad to feel like it was going somewhere, not just this happened and that was it," she said. "I was glad to feel like they had something. There's a person, now. There’s a face."

Police assure the community that investigators continue to chase down leads provided by the community and are working to find the man whose face is pictured in that sketch.

Anyone with information about the killings or the person in the sketch should call the Delphi homicide tip line at 844-459-5786. Tips also may be emailed to abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.